This application claims benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-288711 filed on Sep. 22, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated by the reference. The present invention relates to asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching systems and, more particularly, to ATM switching systems including pluralities of MAC and IP addresses.
As prior art concerning such ATM switching systems, for instance, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-220486 discloses “Router System Doubling Method”, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-105424 discloses “Method of IP Address Assignment by Doubling Server”. As an example of the former method, two router systems, i.e., a currently acting (ACT) system and a subsidiary (SBY) system, are connected to the same LAN. In addition, the ACT and SBY systems are interconnected by a separate line from the LAN to permit monitoring of trouble in the subsidiary router system via the separate line. In the event of trouble take-over of the MAC and IP addresses is performed between the subsidiary and currently acting systems to enable continual communication.
However, the above prior art has the following problem. Where the MAC and IP address are assigned to the ACT and SBY CPUs and EMA (emergency action circuit) which performs the system control when trouble occurs, different MAC and IP addresses are set for the ACT and SBY CPUs and the EMA, respectively, and these MAC and IP addresses are provided as those of the individual systems.